Corona Devotionals

Blessed is he who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  ~James 1:12 ~~~ Let’s face it: we will endure trials as we seek to live and serve Christ.   We wish it wasn’t true…but if we have been serving the Lord long enough…we know that it is.   Some of our trials are external.   It’s no secret that Christ-followers can receive push-back from the main-stream.   From integrity attacks to (unnecessary) red-tape, to actual physical abuse and imprisonment, and in extreme cases: death …for true followers-of-Chrsit, the cost can be heavy and if we have entered service to the Lord, then we must accept that trials will be something that we will endure. Blessed is he who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  ~James 1:12 However--some of our trials are entirely internal.   Thi...

I'm no meteorologist, but this is the coldest and snowiest Ohio winter that I can remember. We have been covered in snow and below average (and below freezing!) temperatures for weeks.   We've had a foot of snow for as long as I can remember: the ground is buried, we often wake up to driveways and front steps that are buried, and some days-- we feel buried. But today, I saw a sign of life poking through the snow.  No, it was not a miracle daffodil (one of the first flowers of spring) mistaking February for April.  And no, it wasn't a little woodland animal poking its head about the drifts after awakening from a hibernating winter slumber.  It was neither flora not fauna...but it was an unmistakable and telltale sign of life, peeping its head up and over and through the harsh cold surroundings.  The sign of life that I saw sticking out of calf deep snow said: JN 11:25-26 on it.                     ...

Do you like riddles? Here's one: When is a locust not a locust ? The prophet named Joel, in the Bible, opens the first chapter of his book talking about locusts . And he is speaking of actual locusts .  (Some scholars ascertain that the locusts he mentions represent other nations that have come against Israel.)  But most Biblical scholars agree (and the Bible says!) that Joel is really speaking about actual locusts .  The locusts , they came and attacked the field. Then, the  locusts , they came and cleaned out what was left in the field.  And then the  locusts , they came back and left total decimation in the fields, and then the  locusts , they came once more and stripped it all again.  In all your history,  has anything like this happened before? ( 3)  Tell your children about it in the years to come,  and let your children tell their children.   Pass the story down from generation to generation.  ( 4)...

Have you ever tried to start your car and the battery was dead?  There is a disconnect, and no connection where there used to be one.  But a dead battery can be jumped, charged, or replaced, and the engine will run once again, good as new with all cylinders firing. But I think we all know that (frustrating/helpless) feeling of loss when a vehicle battery is dead. ~~~ Sometimes we sit here with You, Lord...and the Bible is open, and our hearts are also, but the connection isn't there.  I relent in using the word "dead', but there is definitely a disconnect. Be honest.  It happens. We sit here reading Your Word.  Seeking.  Needing.  Possibly hurting.  Desperate.   And yet, like an engine that won't turn over... nothing. The God-inspired words are there on the Biblical page, and we are ingesting them, but... nothing .   What if there is no connection today? I think we all know that (frustrating/helpless) feeling of loss when we ca...